DeeGee26.2

Thanks, last time I came to the USA I arrived at EWR at about 8pm, and there was a fantastic queue (I'm British, I love a well-organised queue), and I had a very tired little boy travelling with me on his first ever TATL.

Every so often a man in uniform would come down the line asking if we'd ever visited the USA before, and if we had we could go out of the line and go somewhere else (I didn't see where as I was pretty flight-addled as well).

I'd previously visited ten years previously on an I-94, and the chap in uniform implied that I'd have to stick in the regular line as the boy was a first time visitor, so we were the best part of an hour. I'd anticipated that to be fair, and warned to boy, but he struggled (something like 3am UK time by the time we got through, and, of course, he'd spent the whole flight watching cartoons on the IFE). Of course the second we'd gone through CBP, the boy was awake and right as rain until we got to the hotel.

I'm actually connecting through Detroit this time round, and I'm hoping that the lines won't be as long as at EWR, because I've got an onward flight. I know I'll be fine. I just find this process genuinely fascinating.

Silver Fox

Archaic is the word you are looking for.

bairn7

Sorry for the question, but it is relatively urgent. Can anyone point me in the directions fo the ESTA regulations, or something I can find that says if I'm returning to a country of residence (Canada in this case) that the 90 day limit is reset?

I'm moving from the UK to Canada and transiting through EWR, so I need an ESTA. But I think that may cause problems for any future trips to the US as I won't be leaving North America in the meantime. I can't find anything official which covers this. Can anyone help? Thank you!

Silver Fox

Once you leave the US before the 90 days that's all you need to do. What gives you the indication it will be a problem?

bairn7

The fact that other North American countries count towards the 90 days and that the 90 days don't reset until you leave North America. Someone here mentioned in another thread that as my country of residence will be changing to Canada, this will get over this issue. But I'm looking for something official to confirm the position as I don't want to start living in Canada and find that I've lost my visa-free privileges because I've technically overstayed on the ESTA

Silver Fox

Ok, I see the confusion between the Visa Waiver Program and the ESTA. It is the VWP that doesn't reset the clock once you leave the US for Canada (plus others) and yes that would be a tricky one trying to convince CBP you weren't trying to game the system. So you would "overstay", as you put it, the terms of the VWP. Now I have no clue how on any given day you are supposed to prove to CBP that you are not gaming the system. Would proof of living in Canada convince me you weren't? Yes it would. But CBP are built differently to me. I guess the good news is that you will not be the first person worldwide to have this issue so hopefully someone with more intimate knowledge of this will be along, but I see what you are saying even though it is not strictly ESTA related.

ETA: I think that you will be fine now I think more about it as you will not have overstayed anything. You will have left the US before the 90 days, therefore won't have overstayed your welcome, and it is business as usual the next time you enter after being out for >90 days and will get another 90 days. If, for example, you had left the US after 60 days, came back 20 days later, then you would only have 10 days to play with. But if you stay out for more than 90 days you will get another 90 days next time you enter. Now, if you were to do that every 90 days then it may raise some eyebrows but it doesn't sound like you will be doing that.

bairn7

Thanks for your response. I didn't realise it was actually a VWP issue. It is still the same concern though - I want to be able to travel to the US in the next couple of years and don't want to jeopardise that by doing something that CBP deem to be incorrect. If I need to pay more for flights that don't transit through the US then I may just have to do that for peace of mind. But if anyone can point me to something which covers this issue definitively, I'd love to get official clarification on this point.

Silver Fox

See my edit above. I don't see any issue.

Full Score

Has anyone entered the USA on an ESTA and then used the 30 day Satisfactory Departure Extension as below?
Owing to the London US Embassy cancelling appointments and therefore my projected B2 visa with six months validity, I will probably need a 40 day extension to my ESTA. Is it possible to request (a) 40 rather than 30 days, or (b) put in a 2nd request half way through the first extension.
Thanks for your help.

*********

WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that Visa Waiver Program travelers who have been granted satisfactory departure may apply for an additional 30-day extension of their admission period if they remain unable to depart the United States because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The extension grants flexibility to Visa Waiver Program travelers who have difficulty returning to their countries due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions, flight cancellations or illness. Travelers who are granted satisfactory departure will have an additional 30 days to depart the United States after their lawful period of admission concludes.

Full Score

Does anyone have any experience of this, please?

CBP may now grant an additional 90 day extension, effectively giving 180 days (similar length to the B2 Visa).

*********

WASHINGTON — Flexibility for Visa Waiver Entrants.
Visa Waiver Program (VWP) entrants are not eligible to extend their stay or change status. However, under current regulations, if an emergency (such as COVID-19) prevents the departure of a VWP entrant, USCIS in its discretion may grant a period of satisfactory departure for up to 30 days. Please see 8 CFR 217.3(a) . For those VWP entrants already granted satisfactory departure and unable to depart within this 30-day period because of COVID-19 related issues, USCIS has the authority to temporarily provide an additional 30-day period of satisfactory departure. To request satisfactory departure from USCIS, a VWP entrant should call the USCIS Contact Center.

md113

Hi everyone,

As a German citizen, is it possible to enter the US with an ESTA if I carry proof of being married to a US citizen?

Thanks!

TWA884

Take a look at the following thread in the Coronavirus and travel forum:

GUWonder

Yes, and it's worked in all months since the March restrictions came in place in the US. Even during the most restrictive period for travel from Germany to the US this year, the German passport user with a US citizen spouse could present evidence of marriage to a US citizen and a copy of the US citizen's passport biodata page and travel to the US pretty much as when previously admissible to the US as an ESTA-user on a US Visa Waiver Country's passport such as yours. It involved prompting airline reps to do as indicated in this post:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32197935-post398.html

flyaway_gy

Hi,

Recently I received an email from CBP about my Esta. It was the standard email that my travel authorization via Esta will expire within the next 30 days. And now it happened: I applied for a new Esta and got the result "Travel Not Authorized", so my new Esta application was declined. Does anyone know if all applications will be declined during the travel ban and covid?

Am I allowed to reapply when the travel ban is lifted? Or is the next step to apply for a visa, when the travel ban is lifted? I am not planning to travel until the ban is lifted, just wanted to make sure that I have a valid Esta on file.

Thanks a lot!

greenmeadie

Hi all,

I have an US ESTA that expires in mid Oct. I'm currently in Canada doing my 14 days (15 nights) outside of the UK/Europe (I'm a UK passport holder & resident) and plan on visiting the States in about ten days. My ESTA will expire while I'm in the US and I just received and email from CBP notifying me of the upcoming expiry. I know that it's ok to enter on an ESTA that expires while you're there, but I'd probably feel more comfortable renewing it if it won't be a problem. My question is - are there currently any issues with ESTA renewals? I know if someone with a UK/European passport tries to board a plane to the US from Europe currently the ESTA gets cancelled so while I'm not doing that I did want to be on the safe side. Is it better to just wait to renew it when I'm in the States as it won't make any difference then?

Thanks for any advice!